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Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 62, No. 9

LAYING UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN

Advent Review and Sabbath Herald

March 3, 1885

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · March 3, 1885

LAYING UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN.

By G. D. Ballou

BY ELD. G. D. BALLOU.
Matt. 6:19–21. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
CONSIDERATION of this text divides the world into two classes. On the one hand are those who are building their hopes and aspirations here, depending for succor and comfort on the perishing things of time, trusting in money, friends, or social position to bring them the highest good which they desire; and being ignorant of the blessed promises of God’s word, they seldom or never think of looking or laboring for anything better than this world affords. Such will reap only a harvest of earthly treasures. The things which perish with the use are all they have ever lived for or enjoyed; and having lived for the incorruptible treasure, perish with the things they have used. The other hand are those who have placed a just estimate on the things of this world, because they have seen with the eye of faith the eternal things. The kingdom of God with its enduring riches has been before their minds, and the contrast has been so great between the perishable and the imperishable that it has become comparatively easy for them to cease hoarding earthly treasure, and to inquire how to transfer the results of their efforts here to the kingdom of God.
An illustration may help us somewhat. Suppose you were about to take a journey to Switzerland and wished to carry with you a thousand dollars. You would not think of carrying the money with you lest you might lose it on the way; but, going to the Bank of Exchange in New York, you would purchase a bill of Exchange on Paris, and on your arrival you would be able to draw, not the money you had deposited in New York, but its full value in the currency you desire to use. Now I believe that we can make just as real a transfer of our treasures from this world to the kingdom of God as was made in the illustration we have used. God gives us all we have,—life, time, physical strength, mental ability, and social influence to some degree. It is our privilege to convert these into the perishable riches of this world or into imperishable treasure in the kingdom of God.
We can labor with our strength and thought simply for money and worldly goods, and take fleeting pleasure in the possession of these things, or we can plan, and study, and labor, to convert our perishing fellow-men, and help them to develop characters that will stand the test of the Judgment; and when the Lord comes they will be made immortal and taken to the kingdom of God, and will there be our joy and crown of rejoicing throughout eternal ages. 1 Thess. 2:19. If we are thus earnestly engaged in using our God-given powers and abilities in such a way as to develop righteous characters, and these characters are taken to the kingdom, are we not laying up treasure there? Those converted to Jesus are our dearest treasure here if we are Christians, and they will be a precious treasure to us in the kingdom of God. God calls them his jewels or special treasure (Mal. 3:17, margin), and if the saved are a treasure to the Lord they can but be a treasure to one another; for his Spirit will reign in every heart.
Those who have been converting their powers and energies into money and worldly wealth, now have time and opportunity for exchanging their perishing treasures for the eternal riches. Let them use their wealth to aid in the work of saving souls from ruin. How much better to find our treasure on the other side of the grave and be privileged to enjoy it eternally, than to perish with it here! Who will have treasure over there but he who has laid it up in advance? and who could enjoy that glorious future without some treasure there? Will not those who have used their talents aright enter into the joy of their Lord? And in what will that joy consist but in seeing souls saved for whom He died? “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.” Isa. 53:11. None can share the joy of Christ but those who like him have labored and suffered and sacrificed for the eternal as well as for the temporal good of others. Those who thus labor will have their affections set on things of the kingdom. There they expect to find their treasure, and the things of this world appear of small consequence to them only as they are transferred to the kingdom of God.
When the thought of transferring our treasures to the future world takes possession of the mind, then and only then do we see their real value. Then they appear valuable, not because of real intrinsic merit, but because God has made it possible for them to be transferred and made available for us in the future. With this thought before us, what diligence and earnestness ought to characterize every act of our lives. If time is wasted, we suffer loss in the kingdom. If strength is misused or mental power abused, no benefits will accrue to us on this account, and if money is squandered we shall find a debit instead of a credit in the books of heaven. And not we alone, but others whom we might have blessed here and eternally profited hereafter, will suffer loss on account of our sinful negligence. “Wherefore I say unto you, make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it shall fail they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” Luke 16:9–11. (See new version.)
Mansville, N. Y.

An Atheist Rebuked: Infidelity in the Churches and Modern Science

By W. H. Littlejohn

AN ATHEIST REBUKED; INFIDELITY IN THE CHURCHES, AND ITS CONNECTION WITH MODERN SO-CALLED SCIENTIFIC VIEWS; THE REVS. SNYDER AND PIERSON ON THE SITUATION.

BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.
A distinguished scientist and atheist was once asked by a weak-kneed Christian whether he did not think that it was possible to harmonize the account of the creation found in the book of Genesis with the doctrine of evolution and the theory that the world was millions of years in reaching its present condition.
The illustrious gentleman replied with a sneer that he did not know just what answer to make to such a question, as he was ignorant of the precise amount of rubber which the Mosaic account contained. In such a reply there was as much of truth as irony. Truth, in that it recognized the utter conflict between the Bible and the so-called scientific teachings of our day; irony, in its suggestion that those who are anxious to harmonize the two could never realize their desires except by resorting to the stretching process; or, in other words, by perverting the record of Moses to that extent that it would seem to teach things which it does not teach in reality. Such a rebuke from one who denies the existence of a God and who still has enough of common honesty left in his make up to induce him to spurn a party advantage which could only be gained by a sacrifice of candor, should bring the blush of shame to the cheek of those Christians who are less willing to rely upon the plain declarations of the word of God than they are upon the contradictory utterances of theorists whose position to-day is liable to be so far changed before to-morrow as hardly to be recognizable as being one and the same.
It would seem, however, that nothing is able to break the fascinating spell which science falsely so-called has thrown over so many of the leading religionists of our time. Steadily they have persisted in insisting that there is really a conflict between the accepted interpretation of the Scriptures and the reliable teaching of geology, until thousands have actually come to believe that such is the case. Thousands more who are not quite prepared to accept such conclusions fully, have been thrown into serious doubt upon the question. The result is that infidelity is being developed in the churches to an alarming extent.
Science,—genuine, reliable science,—is properly regarded by the masses as an infallible expositor of the Divine will. They very naturally decide, therefore, that if it be true—as many doctors of divinity tell them that it is—that the rocks bear incontestable evidence to the truthfulness of the evolution theory, that theory must be correct. While accepting this much from their clerical teachers, they refuse to follow them further by adopting the view that evolutionism and the Mosaic record can by any possibility be made to harmonize. The contradictions are so glaring that to the ingenuous minds of those readers who take it for granted that God says what he means and means what he says, the record in Genesis and that in the rocks—as the latter is expounded by their teachers—could not have emanated from the same source. The result is just what might be expected under the circumstances. Incapable of investigating geology for themselves, and taking it for granted that their spiritual guides would not accept a scientific theory of such utter significance so long as there was any question concerning its perfect reliability, they are betrayed into its endorsement—as intimated before—at the cost of their faith in the Scriptures. The churches are now reaping, as a consequence of this terrible betrayal of trust on the part of their pastors, a sad harvest.
Uncertainty respecting, and absolute unbelief in, the very fundamental principles of our religion are expressed on every hand even in what is termed the household of faith. Let me read an extract from the N. Y. Independent of Oct. 18, 1883. The author is Rev. P. M. Snyder, and the contribution is entitled, “Theological Upheavals vs. the Candidate Question.” The writer is endeavoring to assign reasons why young men are so reluctant to enter the ministry in our day. Among other reasons offered in explanation of that reluctance, he says that it must be attributed largely to the want of a “theology.” I will commence to read on the second column.
“The simple and undeniable fact is that we do not accept the faith that has come down to us from our fathers as they accepted it. Statements which they believed implicitly we question. Doctrines which they regarded as embodying the very truth of God we modify, pass over in silence, or utter with stammering tongues and uneasy consciences, like that would-be impressive preacher who exclaimed: ‘If you don’t repent you’ll be damned, as it were.’ More important still is the fact that there are a great many subjects connected with our faith concerning which earnest and thoughtful men, both in the ministry and out of it, are in all stages of doubt and perplexity. This company of the uncertain embraces all classes,—from the many who cling desperately to the old statements, and try to hide their secret misgivings even from themselves, through the long list of the troubled and anxious, to those who have virtually surrendered the conceptions so dear to men of other generations, without finding anything satisfactory to put in their place. Nor are these doubts confined to the minutiae of our creed. In fact, the disputes about non-essentials, which have sometimes distracted the Protestant world, are almost forgotten in the presence of the deeper and more momentous questionings of our own times. Inspiration, Atonement, Limit of Probation! What doctrines are more essential, bear more directly upon the practical work of the ministry? How can any man do enthusiastic work as a preacher of ‘Christ crucified’ without at least a definite groundwork of belief concerning these things? And yet it is just these doctrines that are most seriously and anxiously discussed and questioned by earnest men and women, clergy and laity, in our evangelical Protestant churches.”
Such a confession as this, made as it was in the columns of one of the most widely circulated relig ious papers in this country, and coming from a clergyman of no mean ability, is a significant sign of the times. Standing alone it would suggest the certainty that its author must have had some good ground for the statements which he makes; since men are not in the habit of rendering themselves unpopular by criticising organizations respecting the reputation of which people are so sensitive as they are about that of the churches to which they belong.
When we remember, however, that the Rev. Mr. Snyder is but voicing the same sentiments that scores of other ministers have given publicity to through the press, and have expressed again and again before synods and associations—like the one at Saratoga, for instance, mentioned by our author—which have considered for hours together the question as to how these very difficulties could be overcome, we may be assured that those difficulties are real. The picture is a sad one indeed; but it is not overdrawn. Every man who is familiar with the current religious news of the day, knows that it is true to life. Not only in the confessions of individuals has he found evidence of the unbelief that prevails in the churches, but he has also seen it cropping out in the lives and labors of their members generally.
As the Rev. Mr. Snyder well says, the enthusiasm of labor is gone. The church keeps up the form of work; but the life and soul which has been beneath it, the basis of profound conviction, has departed. That burden of labor which is ever characteristic of unqualified belief in the great truths of the gospel is almost entirely unknown among the Christians of our day. Personal effort has almost wholly disappeared, and when church edifices are erected and ministers hired to dispense the word regularly on each recurring Sunday, the church members generally seem to feel that their full duty to the unconverted is performed. I am satisfied that my statements on these points are confirmed by your own observation; but I think I must spend a few moments in reading from one of the few ministers who appear to realize the situation. I hold in my hand a discourse delivered by the Rev. Arthur T. Pierson before a ministerial convention in Philadelphia in September, 1884. I can only read at this time such portions of the address as bear directly upon the question of the present moral condition of the churches. Here, for example, is something in point:—
“Our church-life is undermined by worldliness. Between the church and the world no line of separation exists, except in the fact of church-membership. When our Lord bids us ‘keep ourselves unspotted from the world,’ and ‘hate even the garment spotted with the flesh,’ he means that in close contact, not to say conformity, there is contagion; the infection of a worldly spirit, caught by the church, infests her whole life, and is fatal to spiritual power.
“It is not enough to be conformed, we must be transformed; these are the Bible conditions of true life and power. In how many disciples do we find them? In the church are thousands who, like Ananias, defraud the Lord of his dues; like Simon the sorcerer, estimate spiritual gifts on a money basis; like Demas, forsake Christ through love of this present world; or like Diotrephes, love to have pre-eminence. Our Lord, even at a marriage festivity, did not lose his character as the Son of God, but there manifested his glory, and won disciples to believe on him. Church-members drop their character, as Christians, at the door of the gaieties of the world, as easily as an oriental guest shuffles off his sandals, and mingle indiscriminately with the devotees of fashion and frivolity!
“The god of this world encloses our feet in his most ingenious snare, when he secures from the Lord’s disciples the recognition of his favorite beguilements. Certain institutions have always been used by Satan to ruin souls; for example, the theater, opera, card-table, horse-race, and dance. The theater appeals, in a pure-minded man, to a normal, histrionic appetite; but the theater, as an institution, caters to our lower propensities, and cannot be sustained without ministering to vice. Booth himself sunk $150,000 in New York City, in trying to establish a dramatic school for good morals! And, as a fact, the theater shows itself a putrid carcass by the drinking saloon, gambling saloon, and brothel,—the vultures that gather around it. A game of cards may be innocent, but for centuries has been filthy with the defiling touch of gamblers and pickpockets. The horse-race may attract, as a simple exhibition of the beauty of speed of the noblest of all animals; but as an institution it is an open door to hell. The dance may be conducted by innocent maids and stalwart men, but as it exists in society, it deserves but one name, ‘lascivious.’ And yet Satan, by his wiles, secures from intelligent disciples a sanction, if not an apology, for these gilded gateways to perdition, and even persuades some ministers to lend their sanction to the traps by which he takes the feet of young.”
Now let me pass down a little way. I think that there is something more here that I would be glad to read. Yes, here it is:—
“The New Testament puts the heaviest stress upon an unworldly life. Yet in the church we find a few decided lovers of God, thousands of decided lovers of the world, and thousands vainly trying to compromise between two principles and courses of life as utterly at war as light and darkness. The bulk of professing Christians are not consecrated men and women; they belong to the ‘worldly holy,’ or ‘wholly worldly.’ In thousands upon thousands, there is a vain dependence upon a dead faith, or dead works, or connection with a State church, instead of the righteousness of God wrought in them by the Holy Spirit.
“A worldly church prevents conversion of sinners. More and more the eyes of men are blinded and sealed to the value of divine things, and our own unworldliness presents no contrast. More and more eternal things are practically disregarded; the awful warnings of God’s providence are unheard and unheeded, like the earthquake when Hannibal fought the Romans at Thrasymene. We thunder in the ears of men the terrible truths of God, but they are deaf and dumb, and the very church itself so grieves and quenches the Spirit by fellowship with evil that there is no power in the Lord’s people to convert souls. The witness of a separate and sanctified life is gone, and the witness of the tongue of fire is gone with it.
“Four-fifths of the nominal membership of the churches add nothing to their real power; they are either a dead weight or a positive hindrance to the advance of the gospel; they help to fill the gulf between the churches and the world, break down the distinction between the regenerate and the enemies of God and the truth. How can we expect God to permit rapid and wide diffusion of a low grade of religious life? No, he selects the few, the advance guard of Christians, to carry the cross into the enemies’ country. He permits difficulties and dangers to face them that turn back all but heroic, devoted souls. The race for worldly treasure and pleasure, in the worship of mammon, in the loss of a vivid sense of the reality and verity of spiritual things, is the awful lack of power to prevail in prayer, and the absence of that grand concurrent witness of the unworldly life, more weighty than any testimony of the lips; we also lose all true power to go conquering and to conquer. Zion is not black as the moon nor clear as the sun, and cannot be terrible as an army with banners.
“One of the most startling facts of our church-life is the absence of personal service in saving souls. Service, with the bulk of nominal disciples, seems lost sight of in salvation, which is sought with but feeble and spasmodic effort. We have been wont to urge upon disciples a systematic seeking of souls, putting the question pointedly: ‘Do you know that you have ever been instrumental in leading one soul to Christ?’ and to be met in hundreds of cases with the sad confession that there has been no effort put forth in that direction.
“Where are the marks of consecrated care of property acquired and administered by disciples as stewards of God? Pounds to mammon; pence to God! Money enough in the superfluity of rich Christians to supply the necessities of the world’s poor, and carry the gospel to every unsaved soul.
“In the light of the New Testament, the question may be raised whether it is right for a disciple to be rich. Paul and James warn not against dishonest gains and selfish or sensual indulgences, but against the lust of accumulation, the curse of canker and rust which gathers hoarded treasure. Moses turned his back at the three lusts—ambition, appetite, and avarice—when in one heroic resolve he forsook the honors of Pharaoh, the pleasures of sin, and the treasures of Egypt. During Old Testament times, when the doors of the gospel had not been thrown open to the whole world, the avenues for the use of money in works of charity and mercy, were comparatively few and narrow, and the flood of wealth accumulated. But now, with a thousand millions crying for the light of God, how can they who love Christ hoard wealth? Whichever way we look, the pleading hand of God confronts us, the thousand demands for temporal and spiritual relief, and that hand can hold and use every dollar or dime of the Christian world. How do disciples grow rich but by shutting their eyes and ears? In 1875, $1,200,000,000 were spent in the liquor traffic—one dollar for every soul of the world’s great host—while Christendom expended less than ten millions to evangelize the world! I knew one Christian man who spent for his own house, grounds, furniture, and articles of ornamentation, five times as much as the American Board in all its missionary operations for a year. In the homes of disciples in this city, the cost of pictures, statues, silver plate, etc., more than exceeds all that the churches jointly give to spread the gospel among the unsaved.”
I have been restrained for years from the expression of these deep and growing convictions by the cowardly fear of being misunderstood and called a “croaker.” But let us have done with a temporizing policy. Where would the great Reformation have been if Luther and his associates had been kept from their bold assault on papal corruption by the cry of pessimism? Where had been the mighty host of heroes that swept, as pioneers, to the very frontiers, if John Wesley had not dared, at the risk of life, to set up a standard of piety, demanding of his followers separation from the worldly fashions and follies of the Anglican Church?
You see by these last expressions, Mr. Thoughtful, that it cost the Rev. Mr. Pierson something to utter those words before a convention of his brethren in the ministry. Nothing but the most powerful convictions of duty and the absolute certainty that the sentiments themselves were correct could have armed him with the courage necessary to the delivery of such a sermon. Had he not felt assured that those present were convinced from their own observation that his declarations were true, he never would have dared to give expression to such utterances, at such a time. The ability of the speaker, his evident candor, his opportunities to know the facts and the hazard which he ran in presenting such views before such an assembly—unless those views were too manifestly sound to admit of refutation—all conspire to prove the justice of the charges made. Here I must close for to-night.
Battle Creek, Mich.

LIFE'S QUESTIONS.

By S. Isadore Miner

BY S. ISADORE MINER.
THE paths of life look golden Through the mystic glass of time; Its sands seem smoothly flowing, Like a soft, melodious rhyme. The hand of Fame outstretches A laurel wreath and flowers; We gaze with eager, longing eyes, In hopes they may be ours.
But will the way be rough and wild, And strewn with many a thorn? And will the sands, like hugest rocks, Crush hopes so sweetly born? And is the wreath a phantom Which only mocks the eye? And will the flowers be faded, When we reach them, by and by?
We cannot tell. The brightest star Framed in the hopes of years May set at night, and leave no ray To guide us through our fears We cannot tell. Earth's wealth and fame Are like the summer flowers; They dazzle till we pluck them, Then fade in a few short hours.
But we may know that heaven is true, Though earth may fickle be; Unfadingly its flowers will bloom Through blest eternity. Its wealth will ne'er prove transient, Glories will fill the sky; And God's own hand will crown us, When we reach it, by and by.

THE SPANISH ARMADA.

By S. Isadore Miner

BY S. ISADORE MINER.
After the death of that intolerant Catholic Queen, Mary of England, in 1558, her half-sister Elizabeth ascended the throne according to the decree of their mutual parent, Henry VIII. Elizabeth was as zealous a Protestant as Mary had been a Catholic; and Protestantism and its adherents, therefore, were as greatly prospered in the reign of the former as they were persecuted in that of the latter.
Among the most bigoted enemies of Protestantism during the reign of Elizabeth, was Philip, king of Spain; and as the British domain was at that time almost the only country in which the principles of the Reformation had obtained anything of a foothold, it was, therefore, the chief object of Catholic hatred and malevolence. These reasons alone would have been sufficient to secure the enmity of Philip, had he not been strongly actuated by those of a personal nature. He long had entertained the desire to obtain possession of the English throne, and with this design had married Mary during her supremacy; but the evident determination of her subjects to resist any attempts made to instate the intruder as monarch, had defeated his object, and caused him to retire in discomfiture to his own kingdom. When Mary died, and Elizabeth came to the throne, he tried the same policy, but was summarily rejected. This fact, together with his mortifying failure in enforcing Catholicism to the exclusion of all other religions in his Holland possessions, so enraged the Spanish despot that he determined on a grand onset upon England, which would render it again subject to Rome, and would avenge himself on its queen, who, besides committing the grievous sin of upholding Protestantism, had refused him as her husband, and materially aided his Dutch provinces in their rebellion against his dominion in particular and Catholic dominion in general.
To this end he conceived the scheme of swooping down upon England with a vast fleet, and utterly crushing it by one decisive blow. At that time, England was not, as now, mistress of the seas, her navy consisting of but a few poorly equipped vessels. Philip had been a resident of England long enough to become thoroughly acquainted with her resources, both on sea and land. This, coupled with his influence in his own and foreign provinces, as well as with the pope, made him a most formidable enemy.
The enterprise was no sooner planned than preparations were immediately begun. It met, of course, the pope's approval, and to incite the support of the people, he issued a fresh bull of excommunication against Elizabeth, declaring all her subjects free from their oath of allegiance, and granting indulgences to all who would assist or engage in the invasion. This appeal brought in men of every rank and class, many hoping by this means to gain honor and distinction. Even the cities responded; those in the interior furnishing supplies and means, while in all the sea-port towns, vessels of every description were constructed to join the immense armament Philip was fitting out in Cadiz.
This fleet, the largest then known, was called the “Invincible Armada,” and who could doubt the appropriateness of its name. It consisted of 150 large vessels, and carried 19,295 soldiers, 8,460 sailors, besides slaves as rowers, and 2,431 cannon.
Arrayed against this powerful force, together with an army which Philip had ordered to cross the channel from his German provinces, was the then weak kingdom of England. But she had not been idle. Besides constructing and equipping as many vessels as the resources of the government would permit, ships were fitted out by private parties and means. Notwithstanding, the three years spent by the Spanish in preparation were years of anxiety and suspense to the English. They had kept themselves well posted in regard to the progress of the Armada, however, and were thereby enabled to hinder it considerably. At one time, Drake, a brave English commander, dashed into the harbor at Cadiz, and, before the sluggish Spaniards realized what had occurred, destroyed a large amount of shipping which took nearly a year's work to replace. Providence also interfered, and the experienced commander who had been entrusted with the expedition, not only died, but his assistant also, which necessitated the appointment of a totally inexperienced man.
At last, in May, 1588, the fleet, toward which the whole energies of the Spanish nation had been directed, set sail, and in due time appeared in the channel before England in the form of a huge crescent stretching seven miles from point to point. To all appearances the fate of England was sealed, her power swallowed up in foreign rule, and Protestantism forever crushed by papal usurpation. But God does not desert his cause. He who had delivered Israel by the waters of the sea, by the same means would again deliver his chosen cause, and protect the little spark of reformation which now seemed almost extinguished.
The handful of English boats went bravely out to meet the enemy. Being light and swift-sailing, while the Spanish ships were so large and unwieldy as to be almost unmanageable, they were enabled to harass the enemy and do much damage, receiving little injury themselves as the missiles of the invaders passed harmlessly over them. Thus they prevented the near approach of the Armada to the shore, and also the landing of the German force, and held them in check till a storm arose. The wind being favorable, a number of old boats daubed with tar were fired, and set adrift among the fleet, which effected its separation, and as they dared not attempt a return, they were compelled to push their way around through the North Sea. Here the storm struck them in all its fury, and the fleet was almost totally wrecked, the few who were spared from a watery grave off the stormy, rock-bound coast of Scotland being but a miserable remnant of the once mighty force.
Thus the cause of right had been most miraculously rescued. Not one Spaniard had been permitted to place foot on English soil, and, whereas Spain had expected to effect the destruction of the English by a single battle, even a single blow had been denied. Had the expedition succeeded, England, instead of being one of the staunchest upholders of Protestantism, would to-day be aiding its downfall, even if that religion had survived without her support.

THE DANGER OF BEING DECEIVED,

By Albert Stone

BY ELD. ALBERT STONE.
The troubles of this world began through the deception practiced upon the first pair by a wily foe. That same foe still lives, and is the chief agent in the continuance of these troubles. Man’s liability to deception is greatly increased by the first deception. Never was there a more timely caution than that given by our Lord on the occasion of his discourse on his second advent, recorded in Matt. 24: “Take heed that no man deceive you.”
Let the reader bear in mind that the discourse referred to was given for the special benefit of those who should see the signs of his second advent, and live in the midst of the perils of the last days. Imagine, if you can, what the world would have been if sin had not entered it. Then look around and see what it is. What caused the difference? The answer is, Deception opened the door, and sin entered.
The chief efforts of Satan at present are directed to destroy the influence of truth for this time. To accomplish this he has come down to us having great power, knowing that his time is short. The warfare against Christ and his kingdom waxes hotter as we approach the end. With the enemy, it is victory or death. He well knows that his great power lies in his adroitness in the art of deceiving. To be ignorant of his devices is to be overcome. It should be noted by all that there is nobody, ostensibly, on the Devil’s side. Even Satan himself is not. In appearance and profession everybody is on the Lord’s side. We hear discordant voices and the clashing of arms. We see the war horse champing his bit, and the smoke of battle rising over the hills; yet from both sides the cry is heard, “See my zeal for the Lord.”
“For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Cor. 11:14, 15. The policy of Satan and the cunning which he employs to gain his ends, are pointedly exposed in the above text. These ends are accomplished by his transforming power, which is manifest in changing the appearance of false religions so that they shall resemble true religion, and yet remain destitute of its intrinsic quality. In this way he ostensibly carries on the work of God in all its departments with such consummate skill as to deceive, if it were possible, the very elect. He figures in revivals, and the result is that many of them are not reformations from sin to holiness, but mere revivals of the moral sentiments for the time being, which soon pass off, leaving the form of godliness without the power.
It is a sad omen for the future of the people of God when that which is generally conceded to be orthodox and sound regards present truth as heresy. The popular sentiment of the old world in the days of Noah was of such a type. The word of God reiterated in the ears of the people for a hundred and twenty years by Noah, was insufficient to convince them, and the result was they perished. The Jews’ rejection of the promised Messiah, is another instance showing the power of deception and unbelief over well informed minds. The great apostasy of the church of Rome shows, in a striking manner, the danger of deception, and the great power of Satan to hold the human mind in a state of vassalage when once it has gained ascendency over it.
It would seem that the experiences of the past would be a sure protection against the repetition of the dreadful scenes that are likely to follow in the wake of apostate ecclesiastical bodies. But the indulgence of such a hope would only be the result of deception relating to the prophetic scriptures, and events transpiring in the religious and political world. “Take heed that no man deceive you.”
In viewing the broad field of Protestant Christianity, including the so called orthodox churches, there are everywhere to be seen unmistakable evidences of departure from first principles, in both theory and practice. These delinquencies are of the same type in all the denominations, and in every locality. They include the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion, such as the law of God, the second advent of Christ, and the nature of his kingdom. We are led to inquire, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The law of God is losing its hold on the conscience of the churches. From some of the pulpits of our land it is taught without rebuke that the law of God is obsolete, done away.
The Bible doctrine of the second coming of Christ, and the establishing of his kingdom, which is the consummation of the plan of redemption, and of the Christian’s hope, is not welcome in the churches. With acknowledged exceptions, they will not receive it into their houses, or permit it to be preached in their pulpits. In order that these truths may gain a foothold, those that cherish them have been impelled to sever their connection with the churches, and unite in separate organizations.
The position taken by the churches is greatly to their disadvantage. The light of the Spirit and word of God on the subject in question, is largely shut from them by their own actions. If the churches have lost forty years’ development of inspired truth, on a subject so vital to their interests, their loss is very great. Not only so, but they must suffer the loss of present and future developments until they change their position. Themselves being the judges, there is little probability of a change. And, indeed, prophecy has something on this point.
If the churches have lost their balance, and stumbled in relation to the second advent, as did the Jewish church in relation to the first advent, then, like the Jews, they must seek recovery as individuals, and not as organized bodies. As long as probation lasts the light will shine for all who will accept it, only let them look for it where truth directs.
Eden Mills, Vt.

God's Peculiar Training for Great Work

When God has a great work for any one to do in the world, he usually gives him a peculiar training for it; and that training is just what an earthly friend would choose for him; and sometimes it is so long continued that there seems to be but little time left for the work.

The Uses of Pain and Sorrow

There is a certain pathos in the thought that whatever one may lack in this world, he will not lack the chastening of pain and sorrow. The highest and the lowest, the keenest and the dullest, the most richly gifted and the least cultivated, must each pass under that yoke. If pleasure were the chief end of being, it would be hard to understand why pain should claim so large a part in human life. But when we understand that there is a higher good than pleasure, and that suffering is a necessary step toward that higher good, we have no reason to bear pain calmly, and to wait. Not all who suffer pain will reach the highest good; but no stroke falls on the quivering flesh which is not, or which cannot become, a blessing and a help. If suffering be other to us than a messenger of God's grace, it is we, and not God, who are to blame.—S. S. Times.

Angels Sent to Comfort the Afflicted

—When God sends one angel to afflict, he sends many more to comfort.

SABBATH WELCOME.

By J. M. Hopkins

BY J. M. HOPKINS.
TUNE: Herbert. Spiritual Songs, p. 64.
With joy we witness thy return, Best day of all the seven, Which calls our minds from earthly cares To worship God in heaven.
Hail, sacred day! How sweet those hours Of rest and holy calm; They bring to care-worn mortals here A peaceful, heavenly balm.
Hail, sacred day, when God comes near Our waiting souls to bless; When earth and heaven together meet, And each their love express.
Hail, sacred day! Lord grant us grace To ever loyal prove, To heed the mandates of thy will, And worship thee in love.
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